There's a skunk in my garbage can: Need answer fast!

[stillownedbysetters]

So why do you want to throw away a perfectly good skunk?

[jsc1953]

I was just on a camping trip last week, and had a similar experience. We had our garbage bag hanging from a tree trunk as usual, and in the evening as it grew heavy, it fell. OK, I’ll pick that up when we retire for the evening.

But then as we’re sitting around the campfire toasting marshmallows, a skunk waddles through our campsite, and finds the trash. He’s having a grand old time, as we’re warily discussing our options – how to shoo him away without pissing him off too much. He finally dragged a piece of trash far enough away from the bag that we could gather up everything while he busied himself, paying no attention to us.

(Which seems to be the attitude of skunks in general, at least in this park. They don’t give a shit. I had one traipse through my site one evening; I shone a flashlight at him and he immediately went into Stage 1 alert: flipped around with his rear-end facing me, tail up, frozen…saying “back off, Jack”, to which I replied “hey man, it’s cool…” and then he proceeded with his traipsing.)

[Johnny_L.A]

@Leaffan

Now what do I do?

Put the lid on tightly. Bang on the side with a baseball bat. Yell, ‘How do you like it? Does it smell good? Sniff it, sucker!’

[snfaulkner]

@mbh

They make a type of trap called a “Have A Heart” trap. It’s basically a cage. the animal goes in, trips the door, and is trapped inside, unharmed. You can buy them at hardware stores and animal feed stores. In my county, you can borrow them from the Animal Control office.

We were told that a raw egg makes the best bait for skunks. If you get your trap in the correct size, the skunk will not have room to lift its tail. Since it cannot spray without fouling itself, it is much less likely to spray. (Apparently, the odor is as repugnant to them as it is to us. I believe this is why the Mythbusters had so much trouble with their skunk.)

Theoretically, you take the cage out into the countryside, and release the animal. In practice, my dad would toss the entire cage into a barrel full of water. After it drowned, then he would dump it out. We got rid of three or four skunks this way, and never got sprayed.

Kinda defeats the whole “Have a heart” aspect of the trap if you are gonna just kill it ISIS style.

[Malthus]

@snfaulkner

Kinda defeats the whole “Have a heart” aspect of the trap if you are gonna just kill it ISIS style.

Hey, he has a heart.

He keeps in in a jar on his desk.

[Jackmannii]

@mbh

They make a type of trap called a “Have A Heart” trap. It’s basically a cage. the animal goes in, trips the door, and is trapped inside, unharmed.

I have used a Havahart trap to catch (and later release) rabbits attempting to decimate my garden. One fear I have is that a skunk will wander in and get trapped, and I’ll have to figure out a way to approach and open the door without getting sprayed (using a tarp like a bullfighter’s cape is one option).

If trapped skunks go ape like raccoons, I don’t especially want to be in the vicinity.

note: there must have been some kind of skunk confrontation in my back yard a couple nights ago, because the skunk stench was…memorable.

[elbows]

Skunks need to raise their tails to spray. For this reason most traps used are made too small for them to do so. Clever, right?

[Honey]

You know how every once in a while you’re sitting in your house with the windows open, and an incredibly strong skunk smell comes wafting in? I had a Weimaraner who would start barking like crazy when he smelled it. Silly dog.

[Leaffan]

Pepé appears to be gone for now. Thank … Mel.

[Siam_Sam]

@Malthus

If you want to get a skunk to leave a place where it has holed up without getting sprayed - use a radio. Set it to a call-in show, not music, set it near the skunk but away from its line of retreat, and turn it up. Skunks get spooked by the sound of human voices, and will eventually depart.

My dad used this method to get rid of a skunk that had taken up an abode in a hole under his porch.

BTW, apparently conservative call-in shows work best - most angry voices.

Huh. You’d think the skunk would recognize its own.

[Count_Blucher]

@Leaffan

Pepé appears to be gone for now. Thank … Mel.

Congratulations! He solved his own problem. Your cans may or may not stink, but the point is: You Don’t. This is GOOD!!!

Look, Bear-proof cans are expensive, but if you don’t change something, Pepe will be back.
You don’t Have to kill him… as long as you have a Plan. Get a Good Plan.

If you need some Really Bad Plans Not To Do that I’ve seen Not Work, I’m happy to list some. Don’t do ANY of these:

Put out a "humane’ baited squirrel trap. He will spray you.
Don’t shoot it with anything (BBs, slingshot, firearms, etc). Wounded animals get Nasty.
Don’'t put out poison. You’ll kill squirrels, cats, and the neighbor’s dog too.
(Yeah, you try to reason with a man whose pet you’ve poisoned. That sh-t Will. Not. Fly.)

Don’t try to bait one can & rig it with fireworks. Even if you have an army demo-card and have set hasty charges just in case, this is a Bad Idea. Go light and it will attack you.
Go heavy and… well… have you ever seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

[panache45]

I once found a skunk fast asleep in a rear corner of the garage. I got a stick, and went outside and to the same corner. I then started banging on the garage with the stick, making hella noise. I peeked around, and saw the skunk waddling out of the garage, in search of quieter sleeping space.